heartrending
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- heartrendingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of heartrending
First recorded in 1680–90; heart + rending ( def. )
Explanation
Something heartrending is heartbreaking: it causes grief and sadness. The heart is the organ associated with emotions, and to rend something is to tear it, so heartrending things tear up your heart: not literally, but because they make you sad. The death of a friend or loved one is heartrending. Getting a terrible disease like cancer is heartrending. A tragic story can be heartrending if it makes you feel for the people involved. Anything that makes you cry is probably heartrending.
Vocabulary lists containing heartrending
A Lesson Before Dying
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Wind in the Willows
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Echo
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it "absolutely heartrending" and Kohli said he was "at a loss for words" after the tragedy.
From Barron's • Nov. 6, 2025
Pelphrey delivers the area’s signature elocution with absolute assurance, although his heartrending concoction of Robbie’s kindness and despair leaves a deeper impression than the way he speaks.
From Salon • Sep. 7, 2025
The misguided fostering of such deeply felt companionship between the two new pals unravels in “Twinless,” a shrewdly constructed, heartrending dramedy that the multitalented Sweeney also wrote and directed with admirable originality.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2025
Pensive, melodic, uplifting, and heartrending – it's his best album yet.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2025
She felt herself beginning to believe it; but all the same, it was heartrending to see the poor little cold thing, so close and yet so out of reach.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
